It was a rough year on all fronts, each front compiled online so thoroughly that I won't even seek out hyperlinks for them. The crazy thing for me is, however, how disconnected I was from it all. As much as I tried to keep up with BC politics, the #metoo campaign, Black Lives Matter, various Trump-related debacles and the gradual de-sheening of Justin Trudeau, the fact remains that I've been consistently distracted by my own life. 2017 will be remembered as the first year in the last decade where I was, well, essentially "separated." In fact, last night would have been our 11th anniversary, and here I am in Smithers, visiting my kids staying at my in-laws' place (which I am enormously grateful for). Needless to say, I've been one of the people who's felt too busy to be politically and socially active, and I find that a little disheartening. But necessary.

But what can I say for 2017? I can be grateful for a few things:

I can be grateful that my kids are generally happy and seem to be working through things admirably.

I can be grateful that their mother cares for them and is healthy.

I can be grateful for my job, which was very difficult overall, but its benefits were... beneficial, and my students have been patient.

I can be grateful that I've been getting to know adults again, to the degree that I can have a minor social life with colleagues, musicians, and theatre people.

I can be grateful for my experience in two community theatre plays, which helped me "get out" of a lot of self-imposed depression ruts.

I can be grateful that I survived some oddly unprofessional summer jobs which helped make my first summer on my own more bearable,

I can be grateful that I can point at a few instances in my life where I've learned to express my boundaries and needs more clearly, which has made life much more fulfilling.

I've had an enormous amount of support from family through it all and have grown a little closer to my brothers, for example.

I can be grateful for the little ways my confidence in playing music has increased for the first time in a few years.

And I can be grateful for good health and for enjoying my body a little more.

And plenty of other things. I cannot fully express my gratitude for how my life has moved forward. And I can only hope that it will continue to move forward in good ways.

Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to write. My blog entries are still lacking in passion and order; my songs remain unfinished and without direction.. So, in those respects, the only direction I can go is up.